


Eyes Open

by fireheart93



Series: Life's a Circus (so why not join one) [7]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 07:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1596344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireheart93/pseuds/fireheart93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Sean really hates his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eyes Open

Sometimes Sean really hates his friends.

The club is called Errera, and he knows that a few years ago he would have loved it. By this point of the night he’d be wasted, scanning the dance floor for a pretty girl to take home. But’s he’s been to hell and back since the last time he was here, and the friends that surround him can’t possibly understand that. It’s taken them weeks just to be able to look at his face without awkwardness. 

He doesn’t blame them.  
He still has to force himself to look in the mirror every morning. 

His buddies had disappeared a while ago, they might have even moved on to the only other nightclub in town, but he didn’t really care. He sat at the bar, flicking his lighter on and off, on and off, on and…

A hand comes from his bad side and snatches the lighter from him.

He turns to protest, but stops, words frozen on his tongue. 

The woman in front of him is beautiful.

Her hair is red and tied back in a ponytail, but some strands have slipped free in the heat of the club. She’s wearing black jeans, army boots, and a tank-top in greenish-blue, seafoam green, turquoi- whatever it is it shows off the strength in her arms. But it’s her eyes that catch him, a vibrant green, laughing but with a hardness behind them. He knows he’s staring but he can’t stop. Then she goes…

“What happened to your face?” And he can’t help but grin.  
“Grenade,” he answers, still grinning like an idiot. He considers a pick-up line, but has a sneaking suspicion that if he does he won’t see her again. She’s looks like the sort of girl who’d bust his other eye if he even tried. Instead he just asks, “Can I buy you a drink?” She nods her head. They drink together and he still can’t wipe the grin off his face. She says her name is Carolina but won’t tell him what she does for a living. He feels younger, alive in a way he hasn’t since the desert, ready to take a chance. He jumps off his bar stool, holds out his hand and says,

“Dance with me.” She shakes her head.  
“Come on, Carolina,” he says, “have fun, Carolina.” She’s still shaking her head, but she takes his hand, smiling slightly and lets him lead her to the dance floor. He can’t take his eye off her while they dance, to the point where he trips over his own feet. It’s okay though because she catches him, exasperation in her eyes.

He swears he falls a little bit in love.

Eventually the club closes and they stumble out together into the early hours of the morning. He still hasn’t stopped grinning, and Carolina keeps looking at him with a mixture of despair and fondness that just makes him smile more. He considers inviting her to his place, though the moment isn’t quite right, but before he can say something stupid she takes his hand, pulls a sharpie out of her pocket and writes her number on his arm. He tries to hide his shudder at the warmth of her skin against his but he knows she notices.

“I’m in town for two weeks,” she says.   
“I will call you,” he replies. He goes to leave before he embarrasses himself by begging her to take him home. They have to weeks; in that moment that feels like an eternity.  
“Forgetting something?” she calls after him. He turns and sees her holding his lighter, a smile on her face that reaches her eyes.  
“Why don’t you hold onto that for me,” he says, like the lighter is a promise that they will meet again, like an exchange, her number for his lighter.  
“Don’t you need it?” she looks confused. He shakes his head.  
“Don’t smoke,” he grins, spreading his arms wide, acknowledging the ridiculousness. She throws her head back and laughs, full and honest, not caring who sees, and he can’t help but join in. 

He swears in that moment he will devote every day she lets him to trying to make her laugh like that again.


End file.
